038 Arthur Arbesser- The Austrian Designer Making it in Italy

The first thing you notice when you meet Arthur Arbesser, besides his head of floppy hair and big round glasses, is his upbeat attitude. He radiates nothing but positivity and you get the impression that he always has a sunny side view on the world. It’s a perception that is further supported by the fashion he creates – which is colorful, often with graphic motifs, and rich with artistic references that span many different fields, from architecture and painting to sculpture and ballet. 

His sartorial style is eclectic and original and it perfectly dovetails with his own creative history as a designer born and raised in Vienna, Austria, to go on to study at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College in London, and for many years now calling Milan his home. 

Arthur’s talent was right off the bat. Shortly after graduating from college, he was hired by Giorgio Armani and worked alongside the famed Italian designer for 7 years before deciding to launch his own signature brand in January 2013. That same year he was a winner of the “Who Is On Next?” competition in Italy, which is designed to highlight talented young designers. From this, Arthur’s work began to generate positive reviews by the likes of Suzy Menkes, and in 2015 he became an LVMH Prize finalist.

Today, Arthur is balancing two creative hats on his head; not only does he design for his own brand but since September 2017, he has held the position of creative director of the esteemed Italian brand, Fay. 

In fact, we met up in the headquarters of Fay in Milan to do this podcast interview just as he was preparing for his next presentation for the house. It was there that he opened up about just how deeply architecture and design influence his old world approach to fashion and how not being an Italian designer helped make his mark in Milan, as well as what it takes to simultaneously design for two fashion houses. 

After our chat, what I took away from our conversation was that as much as Arthur is an upbeat fun loving person, he takes his work and his love of fashion very very seriously.